Sony Announces PixelJunk 4am Hits PSN May 15th, Beta Incoming

Lead Designer Rowan Parker has announced today on Sony's PlayStation Blog that PixelJunk 4am will be hitting PSN on May 15, with a Beta coming soon as well!

To quote: We've been developing PixelJunk 4am for quite some time now.

It's hard to know if you're done with no other measuring sticks lying around to use as a gauge, however I think we're almost there! I'll just leave this here.

PixelJunk 4am and the free PixelJunk 4am - Viewer will be released and available for download on the PlayStation Store from May 15th.

Lots of you have been asking for more details regarding the kind of 'actual' musical freedom you can look forward to using with your PlayStation Move. So here we go.

We've created various different events you can choose from to play live. Different events will present you with different mixes of songs, visualizers and a new mood to go with each one. You then take this event live on PSN and make it your own, crafting and performing it however you want.

Here's some numbers for everyone. Each song has 4 track instruments you can use: a Drum, Bass, Rhythm and Synth. Each track then has 4 different looping samples and four one-shot sounds in space around you that you can use.

All of the loops and samples are different for each song as well, meaning events can have up to (4 loops + 4 one-shots) x 4 tracks x 5 songs = 160 different sound samples to pull from and mix however you like.

Then, there are the Effects that you can apply on top of those.

Each of the four tracks has unique Effects living on different axes in space around you (like a giant 3D Kaoss pad for those of you into DJing and synths). Using these effects (reverb, low/high pass filter, flanger, ringmod, chorus and more), you can modulate the original sound samples into something completely different.

All Effects run independently on each track instrument using the power of the PS3's SPU hardware, so you could have up to 16 Effects simultaneously modulating all your music!

For people who really want to hack the songs, you can even dub your Move motions into a loop and play that recorded path of motion back through the music. That means any cool sounds or rhythms you make could become the new bass line in a song.

PixelJunk 4am supports up to two PS Move controllers for performing together in an event. So you COULD have your friend over and mix beats side-by-side with them. OR you could rock it dual-wielding a PS Move in each hand.

Our Live Viewer browser makes it easy as well to spectate the same events as your friends when you're both online.

Finally, we've been getting asked for over a year now if 4am can be used just as a music visualizer on your PS3. The simple answer is, "yes!" PixelJunk 4am can be used as a stand-alone music visualizer to play your favorite music from your PS3.

You won't even need a Move if you just want to fire up and run a playlist to the visuals. All five original 4am visualizers will be available right from the start.

To get some of the rarer visualizers, though, you'll need to unlock them through regular play first. I've been running my work-time playlist through the PS3 here at the office lately just to watch the visualizers. Nothing better for ruining productivity. o.O

Very soon we'll be holding an early access Live Beta for PlayStation Plus members. A limited number of codes will be given to PS Plus members who own a Move, allowing them to get a first taste of performing in 4am.

There will also be a 4am Free Viewer beta download available to ALL PlayStation Plus members. During the course of the Live Beta, we'll host some special live performances from around the world, including DJ Baiyon performing live from Japan.

Any PlayStation Plus members with the 4am Free Viewer are of course welcome to spectate. The PixelJunk 4am Live Beta will start from May 1st and run for two weeks, so keep an eye out for further details very soon on how you can get in.

We can't wait to see what everyone makes once 4am goes live, or what kind of performers will make a name for themselves. Surprise us!